Just take a look at CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index, which hit a low of 8! The last time it was that low was last August, after the United States got downgraded following the debt ceiling debacle.

That fear sent investors fleeing for the exits and into the safe havens of U.S. Treasuries and gold. Last September, the price of an ounce of gold hit a record intraday high of $1,923.70. Today, it's trading just above $1,600.

But the fear wasn't just confined to us. Europe's problems really took center stage for much of the latter part of 2011 -- not so different from current events.

With all that fear running rampant, we thought it was a great time to create our own risk gauge -- CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index launched last week. Along with our partner Markit On Demand, we targeted 7 key market indicators, including volatility, junk bond demand and stock highs and lows.

Using the power of algorithms, we combined them all into one brand spanking new index that tracks just how much risk investors are willing to stomach, on a scale of 0-100. Any reading above 50 and you might start hearing the casino mantra "place your bets," while the closer the number gets to zero, and you have a situation like the one we're currently in.

Last year, the VIX (VIX), the market's other fear gauge, stayed above 30 from August through November. Any number above 30 signals growing fear. The put/call ratio, which compares the trading volume of bullish call options (right to buy) against the trading volume of bearish put options (right to sell), was also practically off the charts.

On top of that, money was flowing out of markets during the latter part of the year -- much like the past 14 weeks. In fact, investors have yanked nearly $46 billion from U.S. stock mutual funds since the start of this year.